Associated PressDerrick Rose and Rajon Rondo should be very happy when the NBA's postseason awards are handed out.

The NBA regular season has wrapped up and that means that postseason awards are due. While I may not have an official vote, here is how I'd cast my ballot:

MVP: Derrek Rose, G, Chicago Bulls

Sure, he takes a lot of shots for a point guard but if you had shooting guards like Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver and both of your best front-court options were frequently injured (Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer) then it's the point guard's job to lead his team to victory. And that's exactly what Rose has done for the top-seeded Bulls.

Plus, it's not as if he doesn't distribute the ball; he averages 8.0 assists per game. In an NBA landscape cluttered with top-notch point guards (including Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, John Wall, Russel Westbrook, Chris Paul just to name a few) he stands out not just as a winner but also the most complete player.

Williams is not as athletic, Rondo and Westbrook both have better options to pass the ball to, Wall turns it over too much and also shoots at a low percentage, Nash's game, while still great, is in decline and he doesn't defend, and Paul can't stay healthy or get enough wins out of his team.

When Penny Hardaway was drafted in 1993 he was supposed to be the new version of Magic Johnson. A tall point guard with great athletic ability and top notch leadership qualities. I guess everyone was off by a few years because if there's a better modern fascimile of Magic I haven't seen it.

Second place in the MVP race is going to be Kobe Bryant. Sorry if Celtics fans don't want to hear it but he's just that good. And with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James splitting both blame and credit for Miami's regular season performance Kobe is the only valid second place vote out there.

Rookie Of The Year: Blake Griffin, F, LA Clippers

The NBA is not like the NFL. The No. 1 pick is generally a very good NBA player and the big busts are quite rare. So, this season has an interesting twist because of a season-long injury last year had the top picks from the last two picks eligible to win the award.

My pick is 2009 No. 1 Blake Griffin over last year's top-draftee John Wall. It's not Wall's fault. He's been as good as anyone could have expected and has shown more than occasional flashes of brilliance this season. In a league of lighting-quick point guards, he's still one of the quickest up and down the court.

It doesn't matter in this race though. Griffin will win going away. It's not just that he has provided a never ending stream of spectacular dunks. He's single-handedly made the Clippers relevant again. Griffin will get a few MVP votes. He deserves them. He's a beast on the boards and can pass the ball as well. His dunks are amazing but he also has a very good touch around the basket. The NBA hasn't seen a dominating athletic power forward of this scope since Karl Malone and Shawn Kemp were in the league. Barring some sort of disastorous injury he's going to be an MVP-caliber player for years to come.

Most Improved Player: Kevin Love, F, Minnesota Timberwolves

If the other two awards are easy to place a vote for, then this one is the ultimate lay-up.

Kevin Love should be unanimous. The guy who spent months buried on Kurt Rambis' bench last season has become the only reason to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He broke a double-double streak held for 30 years by Moses Malone. He's the best player and most dangerous player on a terrible team and everyone knows it. So that means every night opposing players and coaches know that if they don't take him seriously, he's a threat to do to explode. He is some sort of strange Moses Malone/Jack Sikma/Ben Wallace 2004/ Dennis Rodman hybrid.

Second place? This really shouldn't be close at all, but Richard Jefferson in San Antonio, Kyle Lowry of the Rockets, and Dorell Wright in Golden State will all garner votes.

It's going to be close and perhaps Dwight Howard's blocked shot numbers will prompt some to give him the award, but Rondo is among the leaders in steals on the team that allows the least points per game and is third in opponents field goal percentage.

This vote will be close as Chris Paul and Love will get some votes but in the end this should go to Rondo. He's plays exceptional defense on a very good team that is known for defense.

Coach Of The Year: Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls

This is his first year as an NBA head coach. He takes over a franchise with a storied history in a notoriously tough town. The team has a 22-year-old point guard, a high-priced free-agent acquisition, a collection of sub-par shooting guards, and just happens to be in an extremely competitive Eastern Conference. In addition, the team has numerous injuries throughout the season but patches together solid rebounding and defense by extracting the maximum amount of production from a past-his-prime Kurt Thomas and an undersized Taj Gibson.

Then once everyone gets healthy, the team plays it's best basketball down the stretch securing the East's best record and home court throughout the playoffs.

Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat should get a few votes for steadying the ship after a very tough start and getting a solid season despite the fact that there are probably quite a few NBA fans out there that think Pat Riley is the Head Coach in Miami.

Another guy that could (and should) get a few votes is George Karl in Denver. All he did this season was endure over four months of non-stop "when will Carmelo Anthony force his way out of Denver and to New York?" rumors followed by a mega-deal. In the aftermath, Karl guided his team to a fantastic finish after shipping out its franchise player.
Karl has made the most of what he has and now has Denver poised for a playoff run. Have I mentioned he's been doing this while battling cancer? I guess he's not a bad coach. It's still Thibodeau's award but Karl has been great this season.

Tough exclusions here are: Kevin Durant, he's the NBA' s leading scorer but LeBron simply has a better all-around game at the same position; Dwyane Wade, who is the best shooting guard in the league not named Kobe Bryant; Blake Griffin, who just happens to be stuck in the same position as Kevin Love.